Once Upon A Dream
by MoonLightLady687
Summary: We all thought Sleeping Beauty was only asleep when she pricked her finger, but part of her was really awake and living another life in a different world.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Sleeping Beauty and all its characters belong to Disney. The only things I own are the original plot and original characters.**

_**Once Upon A Dream**_

**Introduction**

_Sleeping, dreaming, slumber true_

_Thus she appeared to those who viewed_

_To be peacefully laid at rest_

_But the true tale herein is the best_

_So here is Princess Aurora's story to tell_

_That while sleeping, lived she in another spell_

**Chaper 1**

Once upon a time, as in other familiar tales, there lived a Princess. Her name was Aurora Rose, like the flower, for she was beautiful and kind. She had long, wavy hair the color of a wheat field in the sun, and beautiful blue eyes resembling the clear deep waters of a lake. She was a curious person who loved to explore and could make friends with anyone and anything. On the day of her birth, the good fairies had gifted her with charm, manners, a beautiful voice, and a lovely face. She lived with her mother and father in a monolithic stone castle beside a large forest, in the time when all fairy tales happen, and she was happy there and loved by all.

"Rose!" her mother called. "Rose, where are you?"

Rose poked her face above the garden wall and giggled.

"I'm over here Mama!" she called, waving her small hand in the air before ducking back behind the wall. Her mother smiled as she saw her daughter's shining head disappear and walked over to the spot where Rose had vanished.

"Look what I found Mama!" Rose chimed, smiling up at her mother from where she crouched on the ground. "See?" she said, holding up in her hand a long thin piece of wood. "What _is_ this? I've never seen anything like it before. This nice old woman came and gave it to me but then she left before I could ask her what it was." Rose frowned and studied the object in her hand. Her mother smiled and leaned down to see what her curious daughter had been given, shaking her head in amusement at how everything was bright with wonder in the eyes of a child. She imagined that Rose had been given another childish treasure, something like the shining stone that the cobbler had given her last week, complete with a tale about the Ellyllon, a type of elvish goblin, that lived in the land of Lamuris. Expecting something ordinary that would inspire a child's delight, Queen Gwen was momentarily frozen by what she saw in her daughter's hand. Her face blanched with fear and she stood mute for a moment before she quickly snatched the offending item from her daughter's small palm, shoving it into the folds of her dress, away from her child.

Plastering a smile on her face, the Queen tried to regain her composure so her daughter would not suspect that anything was amiss. "Oh that is nothing dearest," she said, forcing a smile onto her face, "Only a piece of scrap." Rose looked dejected and reached for her mother's hand, trying to find the object again.

"But Mama," she began.

The queen stepped away, blocking Rose from reaching the hand she had hidden. "No, no. Rose it's time to go inside for lessons. I'm sure that woman was just playing a joke, giving you something as useless as that thing," her mother admonished her. "Quickly now!" she said with a distracted smile. "Sarah is waiting for you in the nursery!" Momentarily diverted with the thought of spending time with her favorite person, Rose squealed with glee and bounded up the garden path toward the castle, disappearing out of sight.

As her daughter disappeared from view, Queen Gwen drew out the fist she had clenched in her skirts and gazed at the spindle that lay so innocently in her shaking hand. She could not believe that it was really there. She was so sure that all the spindles in the kingdom had been destroyed years ago, on the fateful day of Rose's first birthday celebration. Not even one whisper had been heard from that evil witch Lucinda since the order to destroy all spindles in the kingdom had been sent out. Not once in the seven years since that day had a spindle shown up anywhere in the kingdom. Until now. The queen wished she knew who had given it to Rose. Someone must have smuggled one in. It was the only explanation she was willing to accept. Pushing aside the niggling doubt lurking in the back of her mind she looked again at the item in her hand. Her face hardened at the thought of what could have happened to her darling daughter. With a determined step she marched up the path and headed toward the kitchens, intent upon finding the closest fire where she could destroy the detestable object. Reaching the main stove, she threw the offending item into the flames, watching until long after it was burned into nothingness.

Meanwhile, on the same day that tiny Rose was playing in the gardens, in another land called Lamuris, a handsome prince was working hard at getting into mischief, something all little boys like to do…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Prince Ciaran raced his horse through a field outside his father's castle, his coal black hair flying and his face flushed with a grin as he tried to escape his guardian and tutor Domnall, who was steadily falling farther behind on a slower mount.

"Your Highness!" Domnall shouted, the little elf man's face turning more purple than it already was as he galloped his horse in hot pursuit of the prince. "You can not go racing around the forest right now! It is time for your lessons!"

The prince looked over his shoulder and laughed, his green eyes sparking, "Then come and get me Domnall!" he called out gleefully, spurring his horse on faster. Without a backward glance, Ciaran raced toward the forest, not giving any thought to where he was going. He just wanted to ride and be free for a little while. His life at the castle was so restricted and he was hardly ever allowed to have any fun. If Domnall was not around then it was one of the palace guard or even just the vague and disturbing feeling of eyes watching him. Ciaran snorted in disgust, a temporary frown marring his brow. He was never free of having at least one person shadowing his every move. At least when Domnall was around he had less restrictions and was allowed some semblance of freedom.

Seeing a split in the path ahead, Ciaran directed his horse down the left fork, glancing back briefly and searching the forest behind him for any glimpse Domnall. The little man was the closest thing Ciaran had to a friend in the castle and as much as Ciaran tormented his tutor, he was truly very grateful for Domnall. His life consisted mainly of studying, interspersed with the occasional, brief, tense meeting with his father, the High King of the Middle Realms. His mother, the queen, had died giving birth to him almost ten years ago and his father was often barely able to stand the sight of his only child. Ciaran had instead been raised by his nurse, Darana, and by Domnall. When he had grown old enough, Domnall had also become his tutor. He had taught Ciaran to read, write, and do arithmetic. Domnall was currently teaching Ciaran the basics of the major languages of the lands around Lamuris, as well as politics, history, weaponry, and magic. Ciaran's life consisted of preparing for the day when he would take over the duties of his father as the High King of the Middle Realms. Pushing any thoughts of his bleak future aside, Ciaran determined to enjoy his freedom while it lasted. He slowed his horse to a walk, ducking under a low hanging branch on the path and stopped underneath a large tree. Pausing, he tilted his head and listened for sounds of pursuit in the undergrowth or from down the path behind him. He grinned to himself when he heard nothing, thinking happily how much more fun he could have if Domnall had gone down the wrong path. Determined to make the most of his stolen time, however temporary, he turned his horse to head down the path and headed deeper into the forest.

Out of nowhere, Ciaran felt a giant tug as something grabbed his feet and he suddenly found himself swinging upside down, his feet caught up in the vines from the Rantun tree he had just been next to. Yowling with surprise, his first instinct was to struggle against the bonds around his ankles. He twisted wildly trying to reach them, feeling frustrated when his struggle gained him nothing. Stopping momentarily to catch his breath, he saw movement to his right and stilled. His heart beat wildly as he strained his eyes to see what was moving in the undergrowth. Glimpsing a flash of black and white he realized in a moment what had happened. Folding his arms, he glared at Domnall as his friend cantered up on his horse and shook his black and white head remorsefully at the young princeling.

"I told you not to go riding off," he reprimanded Ciaran with a knowing look in his yellow eyes.

Scowling, the boy glowered unrepentantly at his friend, wishing that he knew enough magic to get himself out of this magical predicament. "Just get me down!" he complained.

"Do you promise to go back to lessons?" queried Domnall with a raised brow, frowning at Ciaran. Ciaran hesitated, looking down the path that now extended to his right and off into the forest, his dreams of an afternoon of freedom fading. "Do not make me use the enforcement spell on you," warned Domnall. The little man looked at the prince, watching the play of emotions across the boy's face. He softened his voice when he saw the hesitation and longing in Ciaran's eyes and determined that the first chance he had, he would make it up to him. "I promise we can save the politics for last," he bargained, hoping he could convince Ciaran to come back to the castle willingly. He hated to use magic unless it was necessary.

The prince looked away from the forest path and sighed, giving up. "All right I promise," he said grudgingly. "Just get me down." Domnall made a gesture with his left hand and the vines slowly lowered the prince to the ground and then coiled back up into the tree. Ciaran dusted himself off, glared at the offending tree and then grabbed the reins of his horse, who was happily munching on grass a short distance away. Swinging up into the saddle, Ciaran turned toward the castle, gazing longingly back at the stretch of path that he could have even now been galloping down. Then a slow smile spread across his face as he realized that even though he had promised Domnall that he would go back to lessons, he had not promised _how_ he would get there. With a shout, he spurred his horse forward and shot off toward the castle at breakneck speed, a grin on his face. Giving a long suffering sigh, Domnall followed Ciaran, at a slightly more sedate pace, shaking his head in amusement as he heard the prince's laughter floating back toward him on the breeze.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Far from where Prince Ciaran was growing up, the years passed in a blissful glow for Rose and her family. After the incident in the garden all those years ago, the kingdom had been quiet, and no spindle had since appeared. On the eve of Roses 16th birthday, the king and queen were sure the curse that had haunted them since their daughter's birth had miraculously been avoided, and if perchance it had not, they were sure that nothing could possibly happen at their daughter's birthday ball.

"It's a lovely ball isn't it darling?" Queen Gwen beamed as she grabbed her daughter's arm and gazed proudly at the crush of people filling the ballroom with all the colors of the rainbow. Rose smiled fondly as she looked at her mother and squeezed her arm.

"Yes, Mama it is. Thank you so much." Rose glanced around the room as her mother continued prattling about the guests and the decorations, about who had arrived and who had not. Looking out at the crowd, Rose wished that she felt happier on her birthday. She was grateful for everything her parents had given her and truthfully, she was very spoiled. The party itself was beautiful and everything she could had hoped for but still it just felt as if something were missing. Rose felt restless and if she was honest with herself she was also bored. Nothing exciting ever happened in their kingdom and her parents had kept her sheltered for so much of her life that she felt that she barely knew anything of the real world except for what she read in books. Sighing, Rose pulled herself out of her doldrums and turned to her mother, gently untangling her arm.

"Mama, I will be right back, alright? I just need some fresh air for a moment," Rose told her mother with a smile.

"Are you feeling alright?" her mother asked worriedly, peering anxiously into Rose's face.

Laughing, Rose reassured her, "I'm fine! I just need a moment of quiet before the next dance. I promised it to Prince Rupert." She pointed to her slippers, a grimace on her face.

Queen Gwen made a face. "Ah! Yes I see," she said in an understanding tone, suppressing a chuckle. "You don't suppose he has improved upon his dancing skills since that last time has he? Well don't take too long. It is your party after all." With that final parting comment, Queen Gwen picked up her purple and gold skirts and swept royally toward the opposite end of the ballroom.

Quietly Rose slipped outside the double doors on the left side of the ballroom and walked to the edge of the balcony that looked out over the back gardens. She leaned against the railing, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of the cool clean air. Gazing up at the sky, Rose watched the twinkling stars, thinking about her life. With the coming of this birthday she felt more than ever that there must be something more to her life than what it was now. It was as if her destiny was hanging right above her, just out of reach. "And yet I still feel as if I am going nowhere!" she said aloud, directing her frustrated statement to the flowers that twined around the balcony. The pale flowers nodded their heads in the breeze as if agreeing with her. A sad smile on her face Rose gazed into the sky and whispered softly, "I just WISH that something would change." As the last syllable of her wish floated out into the dark gardens Rose felt a sudden sense of disequilibrium and clutched the railing for support, closing her eyes to still the spinning in her head. The night air suddenly beca,e heavy and still, almost as if it too had been waiting for something and was now holding its breath. The noise from the ballroom grew fainter and the whole world was perched on the edge of expectation. Caught off guard by the abrupt stillness, Rose stood up straight and looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Deciding that the sudden stillness was only a part of her imagination, and that she must have just been overwhelmed, Rose heaved a sigh and prepared to turn back into the ballroom. As she turned, she noticed a soft glow of light that had appeared in the garden.

She peered into the darkness, wondering what it could be. The glow beckoned to her, bobbing up and down as if wanting her to follow it as it waited impatiently on one of the garden paths. She hesitated at the balcony doors, telling herself that she should go back, even as she continued to look at the enchanting sphere. Starting to turn away, Rose was surprised to instead find her feet gliding down the steps into the garden. With false bravado, she told herself that it could not hurt to look, and even as she knew she should not be doing this she could not seem to help herself. Convinced that she would only be gone for a few minutes, Rose followed the golden glow to the back wall of the garden, every step she took enhancing the feeling of lightness and diminishing any fear she should have been feeling. Just ahead of her, near the back wall of the garden, the sphere stopped. The place where the light rested was bathed in a soft glow and looking around her, Rose was surprised to find that she remembered this section of the garden. She had not been here in years, not since the time that her mother had found her playing here with that sharp wooden stick. Ever since that day she had not been permitted to come here, and she had almost forgotten this place existed.

The glow from the sphere suddenly began to magnify and grow brighter. Rose's attention was immediately drawn back to the reason that she had come to be here in the first place. She stepped toward the ball of light, intent on discovering what it was, the feeling growing inside her that this was an important thing for her to do. As she approached, the sphere began to grow brighter and its luminosity was enough that she was forced to cover her eyes. Wondering what was going on and debating whether she should just leave and go back to the castle, Rose hesitated, half tured to leave, when everything went dark. Momentarily disoriented, she squinted out from behind her hands at the place where the light had been, feeling strangely disappointed that it was gone. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Rose noticed something that she did not remember from the last time she was in the garden. In the exact place where the light had disappeared there was now a door in the garden wall. Not stopping to think about her choice, Rose stepped forward, reached for the door and pushed it open. Inside the door was a room where an old woman sat, spinning on a wheel. Dressed in black, her face in the shadows, the woman's features were indistinguishable. From where Rose stood, all that she could really see were the woman's two yellow eyes. Those eyes now gleamed up at Rose where she stood in the doorway.

"Well, come in my pretty!" the old woman cackled, beckoning to Rose with a gnarled hand. Hesitantly, Rose stepped into the room, uneasily eyeing the old woman and the odd contraption she was working on.

"What is that?" asked Rose, peering at it from where she stood near the doorway.

"Come here and I will show you!" laughed the old woman, grinning at Rose. Rose knew she should go back. She did not know who this woman was and the whole situation felt wrong. Rose tried to make her arms and legs move. She tried to turn around and get out of the room, but her limbs they would not listen to her. Her instincts screamed at her to leave, and suddenly Rose regretted her impulsive decision to investigate the ball of light. As the old woman continued to look at her and smile, Rose's feet walked slowly toward the machine and her hand reached toward the device.

"Yes! Yes!" the old woman crowed, her eyes shining brighter as she leaned forward, her breath heavy and damp on Rose's hand. Rose tried with all her might to make her hand obey, but she felt locked in a trance and nothing she did could make her body listen. Rose watched in horrified fascination as her finger reached of its own accord toward the point at one end of the machine. At the precise moment her finger touched the spindle, Rose heard a loud crack that reverberated through the night. The noise was followed instantly by a brilliant light and even as Rose thought to herself that she should run her world abruptly went black. The last thing that Rose remembered was the sound of the old woman's maniacal laughter and the sight of her evil, yellowed eyes shining as Rose plunged into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Rose felt like she was floating in a sea of warm darkness. Unsure what had happened to her, Rose struggled to clear the fuzziness from her mind. The last thing that she remembered was seeing the spindle on the wheel where the old woman was sitting and then reaching out to touch it. She remembered the desire to run when suddenly the world around her had turned dark and she had found herself floating in this frightening nothingness. She struggled to move, to think, to find some orientation in the blackness around her, but her body was disconnected from her mind. Fighting panic, Rose closed her eyes. At least she thought they were closed. The blackness was so complete it was hard to tell. She concentrated on feeling something in the darkness. The more she focused, the more the feeling of emptiness grew and the more panicked she became. Unexpectedly, she was jolted back into her body as she began to fall. She tried to scream, but her vocal chords would not allow her to make a sound. She felt herself land on something soft and sinking as feeling rushed back into her body. Rose's breathing was shallow as she fought the fear and confusion inside her and struggled to understand what was happening. At the edges of the blackness a soft glow of purple and green began to appear. Straining her ears, Rose thought she could hear the soft lapping of water on a shore somewhere nearby. With great care, she braced herself to open her eyes. Slowly lifting her lids she feared to see where she was.

As Rose opened her eyes she was met with the sight of a sky full of stars. Disoriented, she stared at them in confusion for a moment. It took her a moment to realize that these stars were nothing like the stars that she was used to seeing outside her window at night. These stars were strange. They were brilliantly luminous and composed of all the colors of the rainbow. They were also twinkling on and off, like they were alive and could see her. Dazed and confused, Rose carefully stood up, brushing at her dress and checking to make sure that nothing about herself had changed, despite her new and frightening situation. She was not sure where she was and hugging her arms to herself she glanced around with wide eyes. Her jaw dropped and she felt a shock as she took in the scene that was before her.

Stretching as far as she could see there was a deep green sea of calm water. The water was shifting and dancing right before her eyes, turning first a deep blue and then shimmering silver, before turning back into various shades of green. She dazedly assumed that this was the water she had first heard when she had arrived at this place. Glancing to the left and right Rose saw a long stretch of purple land. It took her a moment to realize that this purple was, in fact, the beach of sand that she had landed on. Rose felt numb, wondering dazedly where she could possibly be and how that evil witch (For in her mind that must have been who that old woman was) had put her here. Most of all, she wondered why and what she was going to do now. Bracing herself, she turned slowly to look behind her and was met with a vista unlike any she had seen before. Straight in front of her was a field of flowers very different from any she knew of. Many had pink or yellow stems and leaves, and their petals were twisted variations of every color imaginable and some that Rose had never even dared imagine and could not find a name for.

Next to the meadow was the beginning of a forest of silver trees. Although, the closer she looked the more she knew there was something off about the trees that she could not quite put her finger on. They grew close together and the light that was given off by the stars barely seemed to penetrate through their boughs to the ground. Where it did touch the forest floor Rose could see what looked like tiny sparkles dancing in and out of the starlight. Dazed, Rose walked toward the trees, trying to figure out why they looked so familiar, and yet so unfamiliar at the same time. She could not possibly have ever been here before. Reaching out to touch the silvery bark, she gazed toward the branches of the tree with awe, the feeling of familiarity growing. Taking a deep breath, Rose smelled the faint scent of peppermint that came from within the forest, and from the trees themselves. To her left, Rose heard a soft shuffling sound that jolted her back to the reality of her situation. She did not know where she was or what could be out there! Jumping back from the tree, she stifled a scream as two evil red eyes peered out at her from the darkness of the forest. Rose felt fear choking her as she tried to run but her feet were frozen to the spot. Her mind screamed inside her head as she tried with all her might to move but failed. Rose could hear now that the creature was emitting a low humming sound as it moved closer to her, its feet padding softly on the forest floor. The desperation to run was growing by the second, but no matter how hard she tried, Rose could not make her feet or arms move, or make her eyes look away from the creature. Just as she thought it was preparing to leap at her, something startled it and it vanished back into the darkness as suddenly as it had come, releasing Rose from whatever spell she was under. Rose picked up her feet and with speed born of fear she ran away from the silvery green woods. She ran until she could run no longer and collapsed near the bank of a small stream. Shaking and afraid, Rose put her head on her arms and cried.

After a few minutes Rose wiped her face on her dress and dejectedly looked around at where she was. Despite her fear she realized that she could not sit around and wait for something else to come and grab her. Thinking about the possibilities made her shudder. Just as she was about to work up the courage to stand, she heard a soft voice.

"Greetings," it said.

Rose looked around, startled, not sure if she should be afraid. Just in front of her stood one of the strangest sights she had ever seen. It was an odd creature, slight and slim, and if she were standing it would reach to her waist. Its facial features resembled a human's, with the exception of its two pointy ears, which were more like an elves. It had silvery purple skin, and black and white hair on top of its head. Its large yellow eyes peered at her curiously as she examined it, not sure what to say. Pondering for a moment, she decided that anything that greeted her was probably not out to harm her, although she still felt that she should be cautious.

"Hello," she ventured hesitantly, scrambling to her feet.

"And what brings you to our enchanted shores?" asked the creature with the hint of a smile.

"Ah...well…I'm not sure," Rose stammered out as she pondered the situation she found herself in. "Actually I'm not even sure where I am. Or how I got here…or...or…" The more she thought about everything that had happened to her that evening the more overwrought she became. "Or…anything!" she exclaimed, suddenly overwhelmed.

"Well to answer your first question you are in Lamuris, Land of Enchantment, ruled by King Theodus and Prince Ciaran," said the creature with a flourish of his long elegant hand toward the landscape. Then he frowned, "Although how you got here without knowing is slightly strange. Usually our visitors are those who desire to live in this land, or those who have been cursed to be here for some misdeed done. And they are always brought close to the castle, not left in the fringes."

Rose looked at the creature in disbelief, her mind caught on the first part of what he had said. "Lamuris? How can I be in Lamuris? I thought that was only a tale to scare small children! Not a real place! What am I doing here? How do I get home?" she cried, looking wildly around.

"That is what I am now wondering," said the creature, peering at her quizzically. Then he shook his head and smiled. "Well you must come with me then. I cannot just leave you wandering around, poor little human that you are. You would not last ten minutes."

Bemused, Rose looked at the little creature as he started to walk away. Turning to her, he made an impatient gesture with his hand. "Come along. We have not got all day."

"But wait!" cried Rose, not quite ready to walk away with a strange creature and go deeper into a strange land that was not supposed to exist. "I can't go with you. I…I don't even know your name. Or what you are!"

"I am Domnall, one of the Ellyllon," he said with haughty voice, while at the same time somehow managing to look down his nose at her, even though she stood twice his height.

"It's nice to meet you Domnall. I'm umm…Rose." She curtseyed, some of her princess training making an appearance.

"Well Rose. Come along then," he said and began walking, moving so gracefully that he appeared to Rose to be floating more than walking across the ground. Hesitating, Rose glanced at Domnall and then at the dark and mysterious woods that took up the majority of the landscape. Making a split second decision Rose scurried to catch up with Domnall, hoping uneasily that she had made the right decision.


End file.
